Very briefly, philosophy might be regarded as a conceptual enquiry dealing with fundamental issues relating to life, knowledge and values. By conceptual enquiry we mean an enquiry that relies primarily on critical reasoning. This includes: Analysing the meaning of concepts Identifying logical connections between theories Evaluating arguments and exposing fallacies Here is a Chinese newspaper article from Ming Pao on how philosophy improves critical thinking. Philosophy and other subjects Accordi...

Life's Greatest Lesson Morrie Schwartz was an intelligent, interesting senior citizen that touched a lot of people, especially Mitch Albom. Morrie passed on a lot of his knowledge in the last few months of his life, due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This paper will touch on Morrie's philosophy of life, what he says is important and valuable, and also the struggles and problems of life. I will also compare Morrie's message with other philosophies and also give my opinion about Morrie's ...

In his recent research, Pierre Hadot calls our attention to the original vocation of the philosopher: not as scholar but as sage. Hadot attempts to recapture the early understanding of the study of philosophy as an entry into a mode de vie, a way of life richly satisfying and personally rewarding. The challenge for us today, he claims, is to rediscover the unity between two different visions of philosophy: philosophy as scientific discourse and philosophy as way of spiritual enlightenment. As sc...

Bertrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy The value of Philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of Philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from the convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation of his deliberate reason. Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy. Philosophy is commonly thought of as an activity reserv...

There is no meaning to life. Life has no inherent meaning. The meanings of our lives are chosen by what we feel and experience or are assigned to us by others. The ends of our existence cannot be foreseen and will not be limited by such things as destiny. These are the ideas and philosophies of those who believe life to be non-teleological. A famous literary example of a non- is a man named John Steinbeck. Throughout his life Steinbeck experimented with Darwinism, transcendentalism, realism, soc...

Moments of Life How does it seem to be that a natural man who has devoted his life to philosophy should be cheerful in the face of death? It seems that he is confident of finding the greatest blessing in the next world when his life is finished. Philosophy and religion have many differences pertaining to how you live your life and what happens to your soul when you die. Their ideas are so different, yet so alike. Living a philosophical life is to find the truth, to search for wisdom. The love an...

Philosophy has a strong influence on everyone's day-to-day life. We all enrich our lives by thinking about things with a substantial value. We use philosophy as a sort of roadmap to direct us through our lives. We, of course, take other things into consideration while we are going through our day, but philosophy is one of the more ample ones. Philosophy is, according to the dictionary, "Literally, the love of, including the search after, wisdom". This applies to my life, when I am in school and ...

THE RIG VEDAS will mention about the Indian's Rig Vedas. Before giving the details of Rig Veda, it would be better giving information about eastern philosophy and also Hinduism. Firstly I want to explain some basic characteristics of eastern philosophy and the place of Hinduism as a religion entering the side of the philosophy. Actually if we want to understand the eastern philosophy completely, there is need to know that these philosophies depend on a religious area, like Indian philosophy. The...

Ishmael - The Destruction Continues Ishmael The Biblical depiction of Adam and Eve's 'fall' builds the foundation of Daniel Quinn's novel, Ishmael. In this adventure of the spirit, a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, uses the history of Biblical characters in order to explain his philosophy on saving the world. Attracting his final student, the narrator of the novel, with an advertisement 'Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person,' Ishmael counsels the narra...

In the story "The Certification of Brandon" by Crystal Arbogast and the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson the reader is offered two contrasting philosophies of life. The two stories show how the actions of the main characters are a reflection of these values. First we will explore Brandon's philosophy of surrendering on life in "The Certification of Brandon". In "The Lottery" it is shown how the main character, Tessie Hutchinson, fought for her survival. Brandon's philosophy in "The Certifi...

The Stranger is an exploration of Camus's philosophy of the absurd, not a morality tale containing a "lesson" for the reader's moral well-being. Camus's philosophy of the absurd characterizes the world and human existence as having no rational purpose or meaning. Despite the absence of a rational purpose or meaning, human beings demand that there be one. He suggests that human beings are thrust into life that can only end in death. Meursault's personality embodies this philosophy. In keeping wit...

HIS LIFE. Cicero is credited with being the greatest of the Roman orators. He was born at Arpinum 106 BC, the same year which gave birth to Pompey the Great. His family was ancient, and of equestrian rank, but had never taken part in public affairs at Rome, though both his father and grandfather were persons of consideration in the part of Italy in which they resided. His father determined to educate his two sons, Marcus and Quintus, on an enlarged and liberal plan, and to fit them for the prosp...

What is philosophy Most definitions of philosophy have been fairly controversial partly because what has been called philosophy has changed drastically in the course of history. What used to be a part of the philosophical inquiries detached themselves from it. This is why most academic subject began as some aspect as philosophy and branched off into knowledge and became specialized. The word philosophy originated from Greek words philia (love) and sophia (wisdom) carrying the meaning love of wis...

Bertrand Russell: The Value Of Philosophy Essay, Bertrand Russell: The Value Of Philosophy The Value of Philosophy Consider a man that looks to material needs as the necessities of life. He moves through his world in a twenty-four hour cycle of the mundane, never reaching for a less ignorant existence. Bertrand Russell believes that these "practical men', as society deems them, are wrongly named. A meaningful life to this "practical man', certainly does not include the understanding of a need fo...